In the following, an overview of the thesis is given:
Chapter 2 discusses related research work, categorized in frameworks, simulation tools, as well as software libraries and tools.
Chapter 3 presents significant software engineering methods and tools, which are applied in the presented approaches. A short overview of relevant software programming paradigms is provided. The motivation for using the programming language C++ is introduced, which is the primary language for the presented implementations. Also, the concepts of component-based software engineering ( CBSE), being an applied framework engineering method, are discussed as well as increasing the general level of reusability in software projects by applying library-centric software design ( LCSD).
Chapter 4 discusses device simulation frameworks. In particular, the basic semiconductor equations are sketched, providing the mathematical basis for conducting device simulations. The requirements and challenges of a device simulation framework are investigated, followed by the introduction of the ViennaMini project [7], tackling the raised issues.
Chapter 5 investigates component execution frameworks. A solid overview of high performance computing ( HPC) platforms is given - especially of interest to frameworks - followed by an analysis of the requirements and challenges of such component-based approaches. A framework approach - based on the ViennaX project [9] - focusing on the discussed issues is introduced.
Chapter 6 introduces an interactive simulation framework. The peculiar requirements and challenges are investigated, which is succeeded by the presentation of the ViennaMOS project [8], facing the introduced challenges.
Chapter 7 evaluates the presented research work. The approaches and techniques are summarized and an outlook on future work is provided. Finally, a conclusion is given relative to the initially defined research goals.